A Critical Multimodal Metaphor Analysis Of Feminist Political Cartoons

Feminist linguistics has become a hot topic and research area in Critical Discourse Analysis(CDA)and Multimodal Discourse Analysis(MDA)since the feminist movement.However,few linguistic studies have combined CDA with MDA to explore the social meanings,power relations,and ideologies behind multimodal metaphor and critical metaphor in feminist discourse from a cognitive perspective.As a news discourse containing visual and textual modalities,political cartoons have been the focus of many studies due to a large number of multimodal metaphors.Most cartoon studies on multimodal metaphors focus on the mapping mechanism of metaphors and the interaction between metaphor and metonymy,while few focus on the ideological,sociocultural,and political aspects of multimodality.As an important method for studying the ideology behind the language,Critical Metaphor Analysis is mainly adopted to analyze metaphors in texts,rather than from a multimodal perspective,and its criteria for analyzing ideology remain unclear.Therefore,this thesis integrates Critical Metaphor,Multimodal Metaphor,and Analytical Categories of Ideology into a Critical Multimodal Metaphor Analysis(CMMA)model,and studies the multimodal feminist discourse from three stages:metaphor identification,metaphor interpretation,and metaphor explanation.Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods,this study adopts 95 American political cartoons with the theme of “Women’s Issues” as research data,whose sources are from three mainstream U.S.political cartoon websites,published from May 15,2019,to March 8,2023.This research applies the CMMA model as follows.The construction types of metaphors are first categorized,and then metaphorical meanings in political cartoons are analyzed.Furthermore,by analyzing the factor of ideology,the thesis explores how cartoonists convey feminist thoughts via making metaphor choices,and finally,summarizes another influencing factor and genre features of this kind of political cartoon.The thesis intends to answer three questions:1)What is the distribution of different metaphor construction categories in “Women’s Issues” political cartoons?2)How do the cartoonists promote feminist thoughts by making metaphor choices in these political cartoons?3)What are the influencing factors of metaphor choices in these political cartoons? What are the genre features of this kind of political cartoon?The major findings of this thesis are as follows:First of all,5 main types of multimodal metaphors are categorized in these cartoons,namely,verbal-pictorial metaphors,contextual metaphors,hybrid metaphors,pictorial similes,and integrated metaphors.The frequency of the distribution of the five metaphors decreases in order.Among them,5 sub-types of metaphors are discovered.i.e.,balance metaphor,tool metaphor,and sculpture metaphor under the category of contextual metaphor;body metaphor and coat metaphor under the category of hybrid metaphor.In addition,under the type of pictorial simile,two metaphor features of comparative objects in images are figured out: bilateral contrast and multilateral comparison.Secondly,the feminist ideology of the cartoonists are conveyed through the cognitive process of ideology in the metaphor explanation stage.9 ideological analytical categories in the cartoons are divided to clarify the obscure multimodal discourse orientation and expose the nature of female characters’ victimization.Thirdly,metaphor explanation is refined by two influencing factors of metaphor choices in cartoons.The first is ideology.By analyzing the ideological features of multimodal discourse in political cartoons,the thesis manifests feminist ideology in the following 7 pictorial presentations: victimized description,negative historical events,different interactions among 3 pairs of participants,negative other-presentation and positive self-presentation,irony effects on out-group character portrayal,explicit derogatory metaphor forms for out-group,victim presentation of females,including inequality,verbal violence,deprival of sovereignty,threats of violence,constraint,loss of personal liberty.Second,history and culture.The background knowledge of certain history and culture shapes the cartoonists’ modes of thought and expression.Influenced by factors of history and culture,women’s rights turn to be framed within a multimodal discourse of abortion,freedom,equal pay,or other human rights under the specific U.S.historical context.Women’s rights are more likely to be constructed as a struggle for hegemonic power in the realms of politics,religion,and social status.Lastly,3 genre features of political cartoons on “Women’s Issues” are concluded:First,political cartoons aim to express unfavorable attitudes and opinions towards the out-group targets;Secondly,the construction of multimodal metaphors relies on the cognitive context of a particular culture from a feminist perspective;Thirdly,the mapping of multimodal metaphors is almost always from concrete to abstract.This thesis has certain theoretical value and practical significance.Theoretically,this thesis integrates critical metaphor,multimodal metaphor,and ideological analytical categories into a Critical Multimodal Metaphor Analysis model,which provides a new perspective and analytical framework for studying the construction of feminist discourse.In addition,this study provides new insights into the long-standing issue of feminism and explores the social phenomenon,context,and ideology of gender inequality.In this way,it provides discursive strategies to raise women’s subjective consciousness and advocate for gender equality in society.Practically,the findings of the thesis are beneficial for cartoonists,the general public,and women in particular,to recognize and understand the ideology and discrimination hidden behind political cartoons,thus serving to help women fight for equal rights and promote the feminist movement.